Nottingham Life

 
 
 

I know everyone has eagerly been anticipating the latest blog post and I've heard comments like, "I know you're busy doing exciting things, but I want to see the photos!" Well, the truth is that I haven't done anything especially exciting lately. I've just been settling into my new home and am getting used to daily life. But I thought I'd post a few photos and talk a little bit more here about the Discipleship Year.

The above photos are from a couple of fun times with my new friends in the program. In one of them, Ruth polishes the bannister/wall at the top of the stairs in Trent Vineyard. In another, I'm cleaning the lift (elevator). And in the third, Chris and I are playing Dance, Dance Revolution when a group of us went out bowling last Saturday night. For moe photos from this set (warning: it's all either pix of us bowling or cleaning, go here:

Discipleship Year Cleans and Bowls

What can I say? I am getting used to my new life. And it's a good life. I still feel a slight sense of unease about everything. Nothing is quite normal or familiar yet, but I'm getting there. I've learned to ride my bike for hours a day, running errands or merely cycling along the canal as I head to the Arches or to church. My days consist of doing writing work from home, hanging out with my new friends, working at the Arches (a comprehensive, Trent-run center offering food, furniture, clothing and services to the poor and political refugees), or being at church either learning and worshipping or serving and cleaning. The rumors were true: Discipleship Year does mean a lot of cleaning. I don't mind it at all, but I will admit that I've begun to think more than I ever have before about the people who do this kind of job for a living. Now that I'm getting settled, I find myself thinking. Often.

Yesterday, in between our two worship/teaching times as a team and before lunch, we did our usual weekly cleaning of the church. I was assigned to clean the lift and then picked up rubbish (trash) from the car park (parking lot). As I squatted along the flower beds picking Cadbury's wrappers out of the thorns, I felt a quiet peace. I was doing good work, humble work. And it also caused me to continue the ongoing inner dialogue I've had about about pride. Pride can be a good thing, as in self-esteem and pride in good things, but there's also that other pride--hubris, the putting of oneself above others. I didn't realize I did much of that, but as I contentedly picked up trash, I wondered if I'd be able to do this particular task for the rest of my life. Of course I won't be doing it the rest of my life (at least not as a job) but I realized the hard part for me of being employed as a rubbish-picker-upper would be telling people that's what I did. I would want to stress highly that picking up rubbish was a choice for me and that I was talented and skilled enough to do other things. That I had experience in the wide world of success. That I had accomplished big things.

And so, just a few weeks into it, this Year of service has begun to hit me in unexpected ways. They keep warning us about how we'll be brought to the brink of ourselves and be in tears often as we stress ourselves and confront our hidden selves. I don't really expect that in my own life, to be honest, since I am pretty darn self-aware and since I've already begun the process of letting God heal the "wound deep as the sea" (I found that in Lamentations this week and felt it was very appropriate) that is in my heart as a result of my broken engagement. I don't see how this Year is really going to be much different or more stressful for me emotionally than what I've already been through, and I believe that since I'm doing fairly easy, fun work from home for my paid job, I won't be "broken" in quite the same way as some of the other disciples. Yet I've already begun to feel Jesus work in me as he quietly peels away the various layers in my heart and shows me more about living like himself, and what I can do to be more like him. I think this whole journey is partly about me getting more of God's heart for the world, and I see that already beginning to happen.

That's enough ruminating for now. I've got four hungry friends coming for dinner tonight and I need to walk to the store and buy some food! Plus, I've been inside lounging around since yesterday evening and I'm starting to go stir crazy. I'm loving all of this free time to sleep, rest, think, write, draw and cook, though. This is the most free time I've had in years! However, I have definitely been getting out there and getting to know folks. On Wednesday night we had our small group at church (a different group of friends from the Discipleship Year) and afterwards several of us went out for a drink at the local pub. I tried Belgium cherry beer and it was yummy! Thursday night a small group friend, James, invited me out for a real British pub quiz at a pub across town. However, the scheduled pub quiz (where everyone is in teams and compete against each other) never happened, so we at our table had our own quiz instead by playing 20 Questions and had a great time. Tonight there's an "Irish party" where you're supposed to either come "dressed Irish" or bring Guinness. I might go over with my dinner guests, or maybe we'll just hang out here having fun together. Tomorrow the round begins again as I serve at both church services: First teaching Sunday School and then doing set-up at the evening service.

I am learning so much, incidentally, about how churches work and about the Vineyard. Yesterday the Trent Vineyard senior pastors John and Debby Wright (whom we don't have much contact with) did a very honest Q&A with the disciples and it was fascinating. I also read Carol Wimber's biography of John Wimber, founder of the Vineyard movement. It was a great read and very moving. I love how John's whole life was about serving Jesus in a totally normal, natural way. "I'm just a fat man on his way to heaven," he'd say. I guess that's my goal for this year...to be "just a short girl on her way to heaven!"